Traction wheel



Patented Nov. 1, 1932 `IOUISVIELDE, XEN.TUCKY, A CORPORATION '10FKEN'.LIJTCKYv '.TRACTION .AIgplicatonl ledFebru'ary 4, A1929. Ser i'a1No. 337,386.

The preferred embodiment of this Linventionlisillustratedin the*accompanying drawing, yin Which:

1is a side elevation Vof thewheel show- Iing certain of Lthe paddlesprovided with detachabletraction increasing spurs which may or may notbe used;

' Fig. `Z'isasection onV the line 2-2 of Fig. v1; F ig. 3 Iis an edgeview' of the Wheel in its usual Condition, namely Withoutthe spurs;

` Fig. 4 is a 'detailperspective view of one of the .paddles whichy'forms a part ofthe Wheel tread; y

Fig. 5 isa detail perspective view of fone f of the'spurs'which isdet'achably connectable to the Wheel 4and "is sometimes 'employed togive additional traction.

A 'Wheel ;constructed according to this 4invention is composed of aY`hub-QA; a series of spokes `B radiating `froml one endof thel hubf; aseries V-ofslimilar spokes B radiating from `the other-'end of athe-hubg'fa ring lC disposed fin a plane -Whih lintersects fth'ehub midvvaybetween theends of the latter `and arranged between and'incontactwithand secured to ftheouterfiends of thegspokes `l? ,'-B";` and tWo serieslof` paddles 19,719" zwhich Vare secured 5to and project laterallyf-romopposite sides series of spokes B at :the other vside of the Wheel yand'it Willllbe lnoticed that the -outer lends lof 'the respective serieslie r against the :far sides :of the 'ringl C, the tWo series lof spokesbeing .relatively "disposed in planes Which converge from the hub Atoward the ring C and Vcross each other adjacent the :inner edge 'of thering. i

Each'paddle iD, dD consists of asubstan- ,tially triangular body portion12yformed along yone olf fits longiitudinal edgesivit'h aflange-theouter portion y13 of Which lies flat-- `Wise againstthecorrespondingjside of the ring G andthe inner vportion 14 'of Whichextends at an 'inclination corresponding `to `that of the'c'ontiguousportion `of lthe vcorrespondingspoke and lies 'fiat-Wise against'saidportion. The outer edge V15 of each paddle provides a broad surfaceWhich forms apart of the vtread ofthe Wheel. The remaining Y`(longitudinal) f'edge 16 is, inclined 'from the outer extremity yofsaid `edge 15 tothe inner terminal of the portionA llof "the flange.Eac'hpaddle is secured to the corresponding spoke'by rivets v17', 17which extend through e'the portion 14 ofxthe flangeofithe'paddle-andthrough the spoke; and each''paddle-is also vsecured to thering C by arivet 18 which extendsthrough the lportion 13 of theflange e l andythrough the ring Vand through that portion of the outer Aend of itsspokel which Ilies -upon Vthe sideo'ffthe Aring oppositet'hesaid'flange-portion 13.' -In-other Words, the fouter end of each spoke liesagainst one Lface/of the ring, the portion l1`3'o`f the flange oflthecorresponding paddle lies against fthe opposite facelof Athe ring, andthel rivetf1`8 'goes through said spoke, ring :and (flange-portion, thusproviding afdouble shear on eac'lifrivet Which secures the correspondingspoke and `paddle to thering, thereby making a-connec- Vtion possessingmaximum strengthanddurability.' l

tfvvill be noticed that -thedescribed correlation Vof parts produces aninexpensivefan'd simple construction of a traction Wheel fhavlingvmaximum durabilityV and strength and 'one' which possesses maximumtraction in soft or p'lowedland and at vthe Sametime will be capable ofrunning u pon,` Without damag- 4ing, hard ground or roads. v-It Will benoticed in'this connection thatabroad tread is formed by the outeredge-of the ring'and the outer ledges ofthe paddles and thatithepaddlesare adapted Vto penetrate soft ground and Vare Vcapablethroughout theirentire depthof exercising a breaking effect upon4 thesoil and,

moreover, that there is no danger of the paddles or Wheelsbecomingclogged even vin muddy land; since the entire Wheel is of open and'skeleton formation and open spacesvare provided throughout throughWhich the soil may pass. In short, the wheel is self-clearing even inmuddy or sticky ground. It will also be noticed that the tread or rimportion of the wheel is composed of a single ring and paddles which aresecured to and project laterally from opposite sides of the ring andwhich ring and paddles are supported by the outer ends of spokes whichbrace and are braced by the ring and paddles, and that this correlat-ionof parts contributes very substantially to the advantages possessed bythis Wheel.

It may at times become desirable to provide a projecting means to diginto the land when additional traction is required. The projecting meansof course should be detachable since they should notbe used in travelingen roads or other hard ground and their use is not necessary except incomparatively rare instances when exceptionally soft ground over whichthe Wheel must run is encountered.

I have devised a spur particularly applicable to thiswheel. It is shownin detail in Fig. 5 and is designated E. It is substantially L-shapedin' cross section, being formed of two webs 19 and 20 arranged at rightangles with each other. The web 19 of each of these spurs, there beingone spur provided for each paddle, lies flat-wise against the face ofthe body l2 of the corresponding paddle and is secured thereto by boltsor other detachable fastening elements shown at 21 in Figs. l and 2.

Hav-ing now described the invention what I believe to be new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A traction wheel comprising a hub, a ring spaced from the hub, spokesconnecting the hub and ring with each other, and a series of paddleswhose outer ends are secured to the ring and project laterallytherefromalternately in opposite directionsand whose inner ends projectto a place inward of the ring and arerespectively secured to thecorresponding spokes, said paddles forming the major portion of thetread of the wheel, whereby the paddles and spokes mutually brace eachother.

2. A traction wheel including a tread formed of a single ring and aseries of paddles which project alternately in opposite directions fromsaid ring, said wheel also including a hub and inclined spokesconnecting the ring with the hub, and each of the said paddles havingits outer end portion formed along one longitudinal side with a flangewhich engages and is secured to the corresponding side of the ring andits inner end portion formed along the same longitudinal line withaflange which engages and is se-v cured to the corresponding spoke.

3. A traction wheel comprising a hub, a ring spaced from the hub andarranged in a plane which intersects the hub at a place substantiallymidway the length of the latter, two series of spokes whose inner endsrespectively are secured to opposite end portions of the hub and whoseouter ends are secured to opposite sides of said ring, the spokes ofeach series converging outwardly from the hub toward the spokes of theother series, and paddles projecting laterally in opposite directionsfrom said ring and substantially forming the tread of the wheel, eachofsaid paddles having its inner side flanged to provide portions whichrespectively lie against and are secured to the ring and a spoke.

4. A traction wheel comprising a hub, a ring spaced from the hub andarranged in a plane which intersects the hub at a place substantiallymidway the length of theplatter, two series of spokes whose inner endportions respectively are secured to opposite end portions of the hub,and whose outer portions between the hub yand ring converge to a planewhich rintersects the two series, each spoke extending thence to yandhaving its outer end lying against, the contiguous side of the ring, anda series of paddles whose outer end portions extend alternately inopposite directions laterally` from the ring, each of said paddleshaving a portion of one of its longitudinal sides secured to acorresponding spoke at a place inward of the ring and another portion ofits said side arranged on the side of the ring opposite the outer end ofits Vsaid corresponding spoke, and fastening means extending through theabutting portions ofthe ring, spokes and paddles.

5. A traction producing paddle for a traction wheel having a rim Vmemberand. an inclined spoke, said paddle including an outer transverse edgeto form. a part of the tread of the wheel and a longitudinal edgewhoseouter and inner endportions are inclined with relation to each other andare flanged toprovide members to be secured lto said rim member andspoke, respectively.

6. An approximately triangular traction producing paddle for a tractionwheel, whose base when the paddle is applied to a wheel is adapted 'toform a part of theV tread of the wheel,rand one of whose longitudinalsides has its outer` end portion arranged at an angle with its inner endportion, said outer and inner end portions being flanged to providemembers to be secured to anrouter .member of the wheel and to a spoke,respectively, the opposite side of the paddle extending at aninclination inward from' the end of the base to the inner extremity ofthe flanged side of the paddle. Y v

7. A traction wheel comprising a hub, a ring spaced from the hub andarranged in a plane which intersects the hub at a placesubstantially-midway the length of the latter, two series of flat spokesarranged in astaggered relation and whose inner ends respecals tivelyare secured to opposite ends ofthe hub, the portions of the spokesbetween said hub and ring converging toa plane which intersects the twoseries near the inner edge of the ring, each spoke having its outer endcrossing` the said plane and extending to the opposite side of the ringand thence to` and lying latwise against the latter, two series ofsubstantially triangular paddles staggered with relation to each other,and whose bases project laterally in opposite directions from the ringand form apart of the tread of the wheel, each paddle having a flangedlongitudinal edge the inner end portion of which lies against and issecured to a spoke at a place between the rim and hub and the outer endportion of which lies against a side of the ring, and means to secure.the spokes y i and paddlesto said ring.

8. A traction wheel including a peripheral ring, spaced spokes whoseouter ends are attached to said ring and a series of paddles y whoseouter transverse edges form groundengaging parts of the tread of thewheel,

each of said paddles including a body having Y one of its longitudinaledges formed with a flange comprising a Vmember which lies against andis secured to a side of said ring and another member which lies againstand is secured to a side of the corresponding spoke.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature` CHARLES T. RAY.

